England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Bolton upon Swale St Mary

The Parish

The chapelry of Bolton upon Swale, its mother parish being Catterick, lies in northern Yorkshire within the North Riding and sitting roughly 2 miles northeast of Catterick. Bolton upon Swale sits on the B6271 road which links Richmond with Northallerton and which closely follows the eastern banks of the River Swale. As its name suggests Bolton upon Swale also sits upon those eastern banks but some half mile from the river. Whilst Bolton upon Swale grants its name to the chapelry it is by far from being the largest settlement within it, a mere hamlet gathered around a junction with farms, cottages and the parish church. Just under a mile to the north is the much larger village of Scorton which stretches along the branching B1263 for almost 3/4s of a mile; furthermore to the south lies Ellerton a smaller village curving around the edges of some gravel pits. Much of the parish consisted of low-lying floodplain of the Swale, perfect for pasture for grazing cattle, on the drier land cereals dominated in a mixed farming landscape. Today most visitors to Bolton upon Swale arrive through-hiking the newly designated Coast to Coast National Trail as part of that trail's crossing of the lowland between Swaledale and the North York Moors. The chapelry is drained southwards by the Swale which meets firstly the Ure, later renamed as the Ouse, the Nidd and then passing through York to reach the Humber Estuary & the North Sea. Bolton upon Swale is sited at around 50 metres above the sea with much of the land for some distance being little more than 10 metres higher. Just 878 acres of Catterick parish were assigned to Bolton upon Swale within which a population of close to 1,000 parishioners were supported of whom only 10% actually resided in Bolton upon Swale. Domesday Bolton upon Swale was part of  "The Land of Count Alan",  a large tract in the hands of one of King William's faithful retainers, it offered merely 2 ploughs as assets, Scorton was also recorded with 6 ploughs, a meadow and a mill whilst Ellerton offered an additional 4 ploughs, a meadow and another mill.

The Church

St Mary's church sits at the junction of the B6271 with Bolton upon Swale's main street, it dominates the small settlement. Dating of this church seems to have given Pevsner some issues as much has been over-ridden by later changes. Even the oldest area of the church, the southern aisle, is described as only partly 13th century Early English Gothic. The church's stand-out feature carries styling which seems to post-date the bulk of the Perpendicular era, English Heritage date the tower to the mid 16th century but Pevsner feels that ages the tower too much believing to be more recent. The dominant influence on what we see today is the work done during the first Victorian restoration of 1857 which Pevsner describes as "thoroughly Victorianised". Whilst that work was substantial it was later followed by a further phase in 1877 when the chancel was totally remodelled too. A consequence is the uncertainty concerning the true origins. The lane passing carries little traffic and the verge to the west of the lychgate is well-used for single vehicles to park. There are many trees around the churchyard but most stand back sufficiently to allow reasonable views for the photographer.